Amazon’s (AMZN) Zoox recently announced it was expanding its robotaxi service into San Francisco, where it will likely compete head-to-head with Alphabet’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) Waymo.
While Zoox is still significantly behind Waymo in terms of cities served, it appears to be picking up speed. We asked Seeking Alpha analysts Bernard Zambonin and Cash Flow Venue if they thought Zoox could eventually catch up to Waymo in the burgeoning robotaxi market.
Bernard Zambonin: Zoox (AMZN) can absolutely catch up to Waymo (GOOG) (GOOGL) in the foreseeable future. Although the gap between the two is already significant (5+ major cities in operation for Waymo versus Zoox being limited to Las Vegas, and still with restrictions), we’re still talking about a market that hasn’t truly begun to be explored.
In Zoox’s favor, a purpose-built vehicle theoretically gives it the best unit economics among existing robotaxi offerings—at least until Tesla’s (TSLA) robotaxi proves otherwise.
Cash Flow Venue: I think Zoox (AMZN) can catch up to Waymo (GOOG) (GOOGL), but it would be quite a climb. It has the backing, resources, and a bold purpose‑built robotaxi design that could give it agility and long‑term advantage.
I like to play the devil’s advocate from time to time, and with that in mind, I have to say that Waymo already has meaningful scale, validated technology, and regulatory momentum. Zoox would need to accelerate deployment, prove safety at scale, and build network effects quickly to close that gap. If I were to place a bet, I’m team Waymo.